Method and Application-Oriented Approach to Develop a Digitisation Strategy for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Globally connected markets, increasing speed of developments, sinking costs in the ICT sector and changes in competition drive companies to work on digitisation strategies. Currently, many companies initiate projects connected to the digitisation of processes and the utilization of large data amounts. As these projects are very often segregated, there is a high chance for synergy loss and duplication of effort. Because these projects are often embedded neither in the organisational structure nor in the development plan of the manufacturing units, they have little effect. This paper provides a method for translating corporate strategy into an aligned digitisation strategy and suggests an approach for its effective implementation. Based on the known strategic views, the described procedure advances existing methods and includes the implementation of the newly developed strategies. After analysing the current state of research, this work defines a new framework in detail. Finally, the framework's usage is tested in a case study with a manufacturing SME (small and medium-sized enterprise).